Sunday, December 06, 2009

and the Sylvester Antonio saga comes to a most satisfactory conclusion!!

Well, today, after months of avoiding all the exterminator's best-laid plans, the little bugger trapped HIMSELF in our cylindrical garbage can (easy to climb into, way hard to jump out of). That's what he gets for being greedy!!

This means I was able to lift the plastic bag out of the can, walk the squirming fellow downstairs, and free him in the street. The RM wanted to spray him with Fantastik or something equally inhumane--their mutual struggle was rather more painful for the Rally Monkey than for Sylvester Antonio, and alas grudges that deep are hard to fight--but I prevailed. So:

a) Sylvester Antonio is no longer living with us rent-free! b) nobody died! (at least, not in my kitchen; whether Sylvester Antonio can outsmart the neighborhood cats is now his problem)

Sylvester Antonio's relatives come and visit us at the office every year in the fall/winter. We have humane traps set, and then our IT guy takes the lovely little critters out to the woods and releases them.

Congratulations! However, in case he (or a different one) comes back, next time you catch one, you might want to drive him a mile away before releasing him. They've been known to find their way back in from outside (if my old mice were any indication).

I'm sorry to say this, but Sylvester Antonio has a very good chance of finding his way back into your house. If you just dumped him on the street outside, he's going to head for the nearest warm place with food in it, and you will have left a trail of your scent back to the familiarity of your kitchen.

Generally, when you trap rodents in a humane trap, it's advisable to drive them to a field or outdoors area farther away and release them there. Then they won't head back to your house, or to one of your neighbor's houses.